6v Battery recommendations

spade117 · 09-10-2020, 08:47 AM

Considering switching from 1 12v battery to 2 6v. Searching through past threads, I see some brands come up occasionally, but most of those are not available locally. I see that costco has interstate and sam's club has duracell. Because of availability I am leaning towards one of those.

Almost all of my camping is done at state parks, so I usually have electric hook ups, but some of the places we like for our longer (5-7 night) trips do not have hookups, so I am looking to improve the set up for those occasions.

Pros/cons of the brands I mentioned and any other information regarding this update?

**chuckster57** · 09-10-2020, 09:46 AM

We use interstate at the dealership I’m at now and the previous dealership, about 7 Yrs total and haven’t had any failures.

**JRTJH** · 09-10-2020, 09:51 AM

I have memberships to both Sam's Club and COSTCO. 7 years ago, when I bought our current Cougar, I went to both stores. COSTCO was out of 6 volt batteries and I wound up buying a pair of Dura Cell GC2's from Sam's. They are currently in the trailer, still functioning as good as when I first installed them. I see no reason, at this time, to even consider replacements....

This isn't supposed to be a "plug for Dura Cell" as I'd suppose the Interstate brand is of equal quality.....

For me, regardless of brand, most batteries are very similar in build design and produced in the same "battery assembly plants"... So, quality should be very close. That means, IMHO, battery longevity depends more on how it's used and maintained rather than whether the case is "black/gold" or "green"....

How deeply you discharge your battery bank, how long you leave it in a "low charge state", how you store them "off season" and how often you check electrolyte level and what kind of water you use to fill the cells are all "far more important" than brand.

spade117 · 09-10-2020, 10:22 AM

Speaking of off season storage, I'm thinking that keeping them hooked in series and attaching my battery tender like I have done on the 12v over the years would be the best way for off season storage?

GMcKenzie · 09-10-2020, 10:24 AM

I'm another who doesn't really think the brand matters much. They all pretty much come from the same factory. Costco is typically the cheapest (I'm in Canada) and the easiest for me to pic up from. I've got 5+ years on my current ones. Bought them because one of the ones I had went for a walk. Hoping some ******* tried to start their car with it, but I bought 2 new when replacing.

**JRTJH** · 09-10-2020, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spade117

Speaking of off season storage, I'm thinking that keeping them hooked in series and attaching my battery tender like I have done on the 12v over the years would be the best way for off season storage?

That's "zactly" how I store mine... On a plywood shelf, just off the floor in the corner of the garage, with the "heavy gauge connecting wire between them and the battery charger readily available. I don't believe in "battery maintainers or trickle chargers" (personal preference) so I just connect the 15/2 amp Craftsman automatic battery charger to them "once a month for an overnight charge"... I do the same for the batteries in my boat, lawn tractor, generator and ATV's/UTV's....

Canonman · 09-10-2020, 11:04 AM

Sam's Club Duracell for us when we upgraded this season. I'm also in the "brand doesn't really matter" club. At a $90 price point I'm pretty sure the two are pretty similar.
The real key to longevity as said earlier is keeping the battery charged. I am a fan of using a good battery maintainer. I've always used a Battery Tender brand maintainer for both the Ram and the Cougar batteries. Charged batteries don't freeze and that's important here. Also keeping a good eye on the fluid levels.
How do you plan to charge the batteries during your longer stays camping?

spade117 · 09-10-2020, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canonman

Sam's Club Duracell for us when we upgraded this season. I'm also in the "brand doesn't really matter" club. At a $90 price point I'm pretty sure the two are pretty similar.
The real key to longevity as said earlier is keeping the battery charged. I am a fan of using a good battery maintainer. I've always used a Battery Tender brand maintainer for both the Ram and the Cougar batteries. Charged batteries don't freeze and that's important here. Also keeping a good eye on the fluid levels.
How do you plan to charge the batteries during your longer stays camping?

I also use the battery tender plus edition.

For charging while camping, I do have a generator.

Canonman · 09-10-2020, 12:10 PM

I've found it best to have the batteries pretty much topped off before I put them on the maintainer. I can definitely say I've notices a difference in the length of time our batteries stay charged while camping or better said the limited amount they are discharged, since changing over to the 6vdc option. Maybe the old 12v batteries were worse off than I thought.

ChuckS · 09-10-2020, 01:31 PM

My vote is for the Costco Interstate made GC2s... Purchased two back in 2016.. I looked hard at the T105 but am always looking to save a buck so took a chance with the Costcos...

Minimal electrolyte refill required over a year period... I top them off once in early May and then again in Oct

My fifth wheel stays plugged in year round at the house and I let the OEM WFCO manage the batteries... Temps down to -6 for several days during winter. Temps at 105 several days in the Mid July and Aug time frame

NO issues with batteries being properly charged and specific gravity measures as good today after 5 years of use....when these get tired Ill go right back with the Costco

The AGMs are nice but I cant justify the cost when you consider the service Ive got out of these flooded cell GC2s

spade117 · 09-11-2020, 03:48 AM

Thanks all. I went and picked up the interstate batteries yesterday. Ordered new battery box and interconnect cable, so once those come in, I will make the switchover.

RCW · 09-11-2020, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

That's "zactly" how I store mine... On a plywood shelf, just off the floor in the corner of the garage, with the "heavy gauge connecting wire between them and the battery charger readily available. I don't believe in "battery maintainers or trickle chargers" (personal preference) so I just connect the 15/2 amp Craftsman automatic battery charger to them "once a month for an overnight charge"... I do the same for the batteries in my boat, lawn tractor, generator and ATV's/UTV's....

It's actually ok to store a battery on the floor. The "don't store it on a concrete floor " story comes from back when batteries were made with wood cases.

GMcKenzie · 09-11-2020, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spade117

Thanks all. I went and picked up the interstate batteries yesterday. Ordered new battery box and interconnect cable, so once those come in, I will make the switchover.

Do you know how to connect them and that white is ground? Just asking in case you haven't used 6v before as the connection for 2 6v is different than 2 12v.

**JRTJH** · 09-11-2020, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCW

It's actually ok to store a battery on the floor. The "don't store it on a concrete floor " story comes from back when batteries were made with wood cases.

It's "not OK" to store them on the concrete in my garage. It's extremely cold on the "concrete slab" and ice forms in that corner. That's the reason for the plywood shelf (to lift them about 6" off the floor) additionally, it gives me a place to toss the extra trailer balls, a few 2x8 blocks of wood to use under trailer tongues, etc and the "always present dried oak leaves that seem to never get swept out of the garage, especially in the winter.....

spade117 · 09-12-2020, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMcKenzie

Do you know how to connect them and that white is ground? Just asking in case you haven't used 6v before as the connection for 2 6v is different than 2 12v.

Yes (series, not parallel). I did not have 2 12v's, just 1.

koda57 · 09-13-2020, 12:39 PM

Going to install 6 volt batteries. Has anybody found a battery box that will hold both GC 6 volt batteries end to end, that will fit the 8" x 27"factory rails.

**JRTJH** · 09-13-2020, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koda57

Going to install 6 volt batteries. Has anybody found a battery box that will hold both GC 6 volt batteries end to end, that will fit the 8" x 27"factory rails.

Try this one: https://allbatterysalesandservice.co...atteries-gce-g

koda57 · 09-13-2020, 08:54 PM

Thanks for the box info. Just what I was looking for

bbells · 09-17-2020, 09:22 AM

I have set up numerous solar systems and have used the Costco, Sam's club and battery plus golf cart batteries. I have some going on 10 years with no problems. I see no differences between them. Check the weight. The heaviest ones will be the better ones.

ObiRich · 09-17-2020, 10:38 AM

My vote is for the Duracells @ Sam's. At Costco, they only have the GC2s, but Sam's has those and EGC2s, which give you more amp hours. Warranties are the same. So when I added 2 more to my battery bank earlier this year, I opted for the EGC2s, as those matched the Nighthawk ones I already had for amp hours.

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